The Death of Caesar

The Roman republic was already in decline. The way that the political system was structured led to generals receiving full military power, which gave them the opportunity to attempt to seize total control of the state. This had already happened with Sulla, who ruled as dictator before stepping down voluntarily. The civil war between Sulla and Marius mirrored the later war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. Julius Caesar had even been one of Sulla's lieutenants. It is no surprise in the context of recent historical events that Caesar as well tried to take power. He resoundingly defeated Pompey, who was actually killed by the Egyptians when he fled to Egypt after losing the crucial battle to Caesar over dominance, and then became the sole regent in Rome.

Marcus Brutus, the “famous" Brutus, one of the leaders of the assassination, urged the other “conspirators” not to plan for what was to come after the death of Caesar. He believed, wrongly, that once Caesar was gone, the Republic was be reimplemented and everything would be set right. After the assassination, therefore, he and Gaius Cassius went to speak in the forum to the populace, but no one was there. Uneasy, they returned to their homes and planned for the future. However, rather than return to the old way of life, Marcus Antonius, Caesar's lieutenant, was fully prepared to step into his shoes. Antony would be more clever than Caesar, though, and stop short of declaring himself dictator. As to those Senators who participated in the assassination, Antony was quite willing to let things stand. Though some wanted Caesar condemned as a tyrant and thrown into the Tiber, he instead was given an honorable burial and the assassins given amnesty.

In his will, Caesar named Gaius Octavius Thurinus his heir. The shy, sickly Octavius was his grandnephew- the grandson of Caesar’s sister Octavia. Caesar had taken this boy on a few campaigns with him, but he was frequently too sick to do more. Antony, like everyone else in the government, ignored this mandate passing on the name of Caesar to Octavius. When Antony gave the funerary oration for Caesar, the people went mad with grief. They incinerated Caesar’s body in the Senate house, and the assassins were chased out of Rome. Instead, they went to the provinces that had been allotted to them previously. Cassius and Brutus did not leave immediately, but tried to cull support from the local populations outside of Rome. Antony, it seemed, was set to take over full control. He received Caesar’s legions, and the thanks of a nation for not allowing it to fall into chaos after Caesar’s death.

Octavius Enters onto the Scene

Octavian demanded his inheritance, most of which Antony had spent, but Antony ignored him, seeing him as no threat to his power. He underestimated Octavian greatly, however, as he did for most of their interactions. The Senate as well scoffed at him. After all, he had only recently donned the toga of manhood and was now claiming what the great Caesar had won. Though they firmly denied him, Octavius was persistent. He began to undermine the loyalty of Caesar’s veterans to Antony by emphasizing his relationship with Caesar and reminding them that Antony had done nothing to Caesar’s assassins. The troops had been very loyal to Caesar and had resented his assassination, and the general populace of Rome as well had liked Caesar.

Antony tried to consolidate his power, but Caesar’s old soldiers didn’t want another civil war and kept Antony and Octavian from openly fighting. Meanwhile, Antony was losing power elsewhere. His move from Rome to Gaul threatened Brutus and Cassius, whom Antony had to finally stopped humoring. They fled to the Eastern provinces, formerly held by Pompey, in order to recruit actual armies to protect themselves. Also, Sextus Pompey, Gnaeus Pompey’s- Pompey “The Great”- son was gaining control of the seas and was running a pirate fleet, as well as stirring up revolts in Spain. In Rome, Cicero was sharply criticizing Antony, and Cicero was still respected for his great oratory skills and for having been a consul.

The young Octavian

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